Eleven cognac facts to impress people with at a dinner party

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Do you know your yak from your man-headed horse? There’s more than you think to this resurgent French spirit

The most basic fact – what is cognac? A brandy from the Cognac region, between the Charente river and the Atlantic. But there’s a bit more to it than that: unlike other brandies, cognac must be made from specific grapes, usually ugni blanc, distilled twice (but only between November and March each time) and aged at least two years in Tronçais or Limousin oak barrels.

Worth the wait: cognac spends at least two years in Tronçais or Limousin oak barrelsCredit:
Getty

The height of cognac deliciousness is often referred to among connoisseurs as rancio, describing a particular richness of aroma and flavour developed by some very fine aged cognacs. It has been described as an earthy umami quality. The term comes from Iberia, where it is used to describe Spanish and Portuguese fortified wines such as sherry and port.

Eighteenth-century emigrés from the British Isles established some of Cognac’s houses: Richard Hennessy came from Ireland, Jean Martell arrived from the Channel Islands, while Thomas Hine headed over from Dorset with a desire just to improve his French. Rémy Martin is named after a wine grower from Cognac who began selling cognac under his own name in 1724. The company remains one of the few houses still run by a family from the region.

In 2003, Rémy Martin appointed Pierrette Trichet as the first ever female cellar master for a major cognac house. She held the position until 2014, before handing over the reins to Baptiste Loiseau – the youngest ever cellar master.

When Britain’s first escalator was installed at Harrods in 1898, cognac was offered to everyone who took a ride. The drink was to help ease them into what must have seemed like an intriguing contraption for those lucky enough to experience it.

Nice trip: cognac was de rigueur on the Harrods escalator

In 1841, Paul-Emile-Rémy Martin added a logo to the bottles and cases in the shape of a centaur because it was linked to Martin’s star sign of Sagittarius.

Written in the stars: the centaur logo was introduced in 1841Credit:
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In China, Rémy Martin is also called réntóumă (人头马) - literally “man-headed horse”. This is because, in Asia, many people could not easily pronounce “Rémy Martin”.

Only a tiny fraction of cognac – just 2 to 3 per cent – is sold in France. The largest market is the US, with a particular following among African-Americans, as a result of Cognac forging an association with hip hop in the 1990s, which saw the first rap references to "yak" or “nyak”. The next largest markets are Singapore and China.

Leading the way: Rémy Martin was a pioneer among cognac producersCredit:
Alamy

Rémy Martin was a pioneer among the Cognac region’s 350 or so producers when it comes to distilling on the lees – the sediments that occur during vinification of the grapes. “This method enhances the potential of ageing our eaux-de-vie and gives a ‘coating’ sensation on the palate,” says cellar master Baptiste Loiseau.

“This sensation of smoothness on the palate is even more present when Rémy Martin XO is enjoyed on ice.” And because Rémy Martin’s eaux-de-vies come exclusively from Petite and Grand Champagne crus, their chalky soils offer the promise of better ageing potential.

Surprisingly, Baptiste Loiseau said in an interview for The Daily Telegraph that his favourite way to drink cognac is... mixed with ginger ale. (Though he did say the advice applied to an everyday bottle, being drunk “in a garden in the town of Cognac, with my friends, at a barbecue”.)

Each to their own: Baptiste Loiseau (right) is partial to a cognac with ginger aleCredit:
Getty

If you can’t arrange that experience for yourself, then two classic cognac cocktails to enjoy anywhere are the Sidecar (cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice) and the Old Fashioned (cognac with brown sugar and bitters).

Discovering cognac

This Telegraph article, brought to you by Rémy Martin, is about the flavours, traditions and hidden depths of cognac.

Family firm Rémy Martin was founded more than 300 years ago on a small terroir which provides the perfect conditions for producing high-quality cognac.